Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Charmed One6
Summary: Chapter 10 is up! Rain Fans, eat your heart out! This fic picks up right where the RE movie left off. Alice escapes, only to discover that she's not the only thing that's been left free and, as usual, Umbrella has some suprises waiting...
1. Escape

Author's Note: I don't really like to use profanity but I also wanted to keep to the original character of the story as much as possible. This story takes place at the very end of the first movie, written from Alice's POV.

Warning Definitely some major spoilers in here. This is my first fanfic so please review and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except Sherry, who is my own creation. Most of the plot is mine, as well.

I cocked the shotgun, enjoying the sound as the shells slid into place. I glanced around again, amazed at the destruction in what was former Raccoon City. What was my next move? Everyone was gone, Rain, J.D., Matt, even Spence. All were victims of the Umbrella Corporation. I tried to think. How long had I been in that place, their guinea pig? My hair was only a little longer but they could've and probably had trimmed it. My next move, I decided, would be to get out of the city. Someone had to be warned that there was an army of walking dead underground. I walked past the destroyed police car, glancing on all sides, checking the perimeter. Something else had happened, to explain my surroundings. I stopped in the street, numbness spreading to my entire body. I heard low growl and the click of nails on asphalt. Something _had_ happened. The zombies had escaped their underground prison. I turned quickly, pulling the shotgun up even as the skinned-Doberman leapt towards me. I let off a shot, the blast taking the dog full in the face. It hit the asphalt with a dull thud, whined once and then didn't move. The shot had taken the Doberman's face off, blood oozing slowly from its wound, pooling in a crimson spot on the ground.

"Crap."

I needed to get out of this place. It was even starting to mess with my vocabulary. I tried to remember where the gates were. But everything, every landmark, lay in ruin. Or almost everything. I had come out of the Mansion, the house I had lived in with Spence for more than six months. I knew it was east of my position. _East of my position_? When had I started talking like a freakin' commando? I reloaded the shotgun and started walking north-west. The Mansion had been built on the outskirts of Raccoon City to discourage visitors, so, obviously I wanted to go further into the city. I started walking again. I was in a subdivision, the houses cut exactly the same in their cookie cutter way. But the houses didn't look the same anymore. Most of them had been torn apart by fire or other...hands. I needed more ammunition, a hand gun, maybe a flamethrower if I could find it. Yeah, a flamethrower would be awesome. Well, most people kept guns in their homes. Seemed as good a place as any to start looking. I went past the first few houses because they were still on fire. I walked into the next house. This house was nice and generic. The only thing that made it interesting was a dead tree in the front yard. It, too, had caught flame as had the grass around it. I could still smell the burnt debris. I walked past the tree's skeletal remains and pushed open the front door all the way. I listened for the shuffling walk of the zombies and heard...nothing. Even so, I brought the shotgun up, sighting down my arm. There weren't any signs of anything. The television was on but the picture contained only static, the endless march of the black and white ants. The living room was connected to the dining room and between the two was a hallway. The one good thing about the zombies is that they were stupid. They couldn't think to hide and jump out from under a table or a doorway. I looked at the kitchen. There were dishes in the sink, papers on the table. Everything seemed so nice and normal. So unlike my life. Or theirs now. I searched through the kitchen cabinets and drawers. There was silverware, plates, bowls, the normal kitchen stuff. The knives weren't big enough to be useful. I continued down the hall, listening carefully. There were two rooms to my right, one on my left. These people had kids. The children's names were stenciled on the door. I compartmentalized the emotion and the horror and kept moving. More than likely the parents wouldn't keep a gun in their kids' room. I moved to the last door on the right. I listened by the door. If something was in the room, I wanted to know about it. There was nothing in the room. I was sure of it. I turned the knob and went in. There was no one in the room. There was a made bed in the center of the room, an armoire and a chest of drawers. I dismissed each piece of furniture and the bed and moved to the closet on the opposite side of the room. I paused on the side of the door but I _knew_ nothing was waiting. I pulled open the door and looked inside. The closet was a huge walk-in number. Expensive clothing lined each side, shoes stacked neatly underneath the corresponding outfit. I glanced down at what I was wearing. The lab coat and the shielding I had woken up in. Not exactly good for fighting the undead, or really, for walking around. I went to the woman's side of the closet and started looking through the clothes. I found a shirt that looked like it would fit me. It was black and hung off the shoulder. There was a shelf that ran the length of the closet. I knew where the gun was. I reached up and pulled down a Skecher's shoebox. Inside was a black Sig-Sauer .45, two loaded clips, a box of ammo and a shoulder holster. The holster would chafe my exposed skin. And I couldn't carry the other clip or ammo in my hand the entire time. I found a black leather jacket. Underneath the jacket were a pair of black Merrell boots. I smiled to myself and grabbed both items. I put everything on the bed and grabbed a pair of jeans from the chest of drawers. I kept looking. So far this woman had everything in my size. I grabbed a pair of under things and put them on, followed by the rest of the clothing. I put the jacket on. It fell to my thighs and had deep pockets, perfect for the clips, gun and ammo. Now, to get out of here.

I went back outside, now noticing the garage. I went inside. The only vehicle left was a black Honda Super Hawk motorcycle. Oh, yeah. Hanging on a handlebar was the matching helmet. I put it on and revved the engine. I smiled again as I busted through the garage door and out onto the street.


	2. Survival

"How big is this place?" I muttered to myself, as an hour later, I hadn't seen any sign that I was coming upon the city gates. On my left was a parking garage, my right, an office building. It was the least demolished building I had seen yet. Just as I was thinking that, a scream erupted from the building.

"Crap." I steered the bike toward the building and drove up the steps. I jumped off the bike, cutting the motor and pulling the shotgun from my shoulder. Another scream, this one off to my right and above me. I flew up the steps, listening for the shuffling feet, the decomposing stench. Another scream, this time cut off before it could be finished. I burst into the room in time to see three zombies, their faces disgusting, one missing an eye, shuffling towards a man and a kid. The woman was lying on the floor at their feet. I wasn't sure if she was dead or unconscious. I hoped the latter.

"Cover her eyes!" I yelled at the man. I hoped he would understand. I waited until the eyeless zombie was in front of me and then released the shot into its face. The blast went through the creature's head, splattering gray matter on the wall behind them. The next one I met with a flat palm to the nose, driving the creature's cartilage into its brain. It fell to the ground beside the other, now faceless, zombie. The third slashed at me slowly. I blocked it easily and twisted my hand upward, catching its neck in one hand. I grabbed the other side of its decaying face and twisted, breaking its neck. It fell beside its fellows. I walked over to the man, woman and child trio and squatted down in front of the woman. I looked her over carefully. There were no scratches or bite marks that I could see.

"W-who the hell are you?" the man asked, looking shaken.

"My name is Alice," I said, looking at him for the first time. He looked around thirty, with a buzz cut, torn jeans and a blue shirt. I looked at the little girl. Her eyes were wide and she looked on the verge of shock. She looked around eight and was wearing a dirty blue dress.

"My turn. Who are you?"

The man sighed. "My name is Chris Redfield. That is my sister," he said as he pointed towards the unconscious woman. "And I have no clue who the little girl is." He said to my unspoken question.

"Try and revive her," I told Chris. I didn't wait to see if he took my order, instead I moved to sit beside the little girl.

"Hi, sweetheart. Are you okay?" I asked. Her eyes met mine and they got a little smaller. Good. She wasn't in shock. She shook her head slowly.

"What's your name?" I asked gently.

"Sherry," she said, her voice shaking.

"Hi, Sherry. My name is Alice. As in Wonderland, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts. Have you ever seen the movie?" I wondered why I was comparing myself to the Lewis Carroll character.

Slowly, Sherry smiled. It was tiny but it was a start. "I like the Cheshire Cat."

I echoed the girl's smile and pulled her to her feet. I glanced at Chris. He had revived his sister and was talking to her in a quiet voice.

"I hate to tell you this but we need to move. Where there's smoke, there's fire," I said, indicating the zombies with a slight nod of my head. Chris helped his sister up. She walked over to where the zombies were lying. I saw Sherry watching her. I stood in front of the girl. She had already seen enough. The woman kicked the zombies aside and stooped down. She came back up with a wolfram p2k, including silencer.

I raised an eyebrow in her direction. "James Bond, much?"

She smiled. "Never leave home without it. My name is Claire Redfield. That's-"

"Your brother, Chris, I know. Well, we've got quite a trip ahead of us. Let's go." I took Sherry's hand, keeping her out of eyesight of the destroyed creatures on the floor.

"Do you have a car or something?" Chris asked, not moving.

"I have a motorcycle, but its not like I can fit all of us on it. Now, c'mon." I was starting to get angry. I was trying to help him, didn't he get it? I started down the stairs and was out the door before I heard Claire say: "Chris, move." A few moments later, I heard the two of them on the stairs.

We were out on the street. "How'd you two get into this?" I asked. Claire answered.

"We work for S.T.A.R.S. Our group got separated. Then those things attacked us and we ended up in there..."

I felt a finger of ice slide into my stomach. S.T.A.R.S. worked for the Umbrella Corporation. I turned quickly, pulling Sherry behind me with one hand and drawing the Sig with the other. I leveled the gun at Chris. His expression was surprised, Claire's, startled.

"You work for Umbrella," I said, my voice cold and gravelly. Chris put his hands up in a calming pose. "We used to work for Umbrella-"

"Sort of. We were trying to put a stop to their experimentation," Claire explained. An image of a man and a woman flashed in my head. So, these two were trying to bring Umbrella down. Like another brother and sister team I had known. Lisa and Matt. Lisa had been killed and worse for being an employee of Umbrella. As for Matt, I still had no clue where he was or what had happened to him after we had been separated. Slowly, I lowered the gun, placing it in my coat pocket and clicking the safety back into place.

"There's no way for you to prove what you're saying, is there?"

Chris hesitated. "We had a contact that had a contact. You didn't by chance know a Lisa Broward, did you?"

Lisa. Once again, her meeting with me flashed through my head. I felt my guard lower. I sighed. "Yes, I did."

"What happened to her?" Claire asked quietly.

"She's dead," I said flatly. "We need to keep moving." I glanced at Sherry, her eyes were wide again.

"I'm...sorry. You don't know what happened in the Hive..." I started. To my surprise, Chris nodded. "We know some of it. We met someone who lived through it."

Now, it was my surprised face they saw. "Who did you meet?"

A flicker of..._something_ passed across the pair's faces.

"They...wanted to remain anonymous," Chris said carefully.

Okay, fine, they wanted to be mysterious, fine.

"We were actually going to meet the person before we heard Sherry screaming for help," Claire said, glancing briefly at her brother.

"Are we going the right way?" Sherry asked softly.

I jumped. I had forgotten the little girl was beside me.

Chris looked around, trying to get his bearings. "We need to go past this building and then cut North as soon as possible. But we're supposed to stick to the roads."

"Fine, but we still need to hurry. We only have a few hours left of daylight. Then, it'll get worse." Somehow, instinctively, I knew my words to be true. Umbrella had created something...I struggled to think. Something that could only tolerate the darkness. I shook my head. Where had that image come from? Chris nodded. He took the lead and I let him. He seemed to know where he was going. I glanced at the skyline. The sunlight was fading, dying the clouds a muddy red. I shivered. The sight was ominous.

It had been an hour and according to Chris, we were still at least a half hour from the "safe" house, where we were supposed to meet their contact. Sherry was starting to tire. She lagged behind me. I wanted to pick the little girl up, but so far, I was the only one that seemed to know how and when to use a weapon. When I had pulled the gun on Chris, Claire had forgotten she even had the P2K.

"Claire...? Can you...?" I started, nodding discreetly towards Sherry.

Claire, again, looked startled but nodded. "Sherry, sweetie, how 'bout a piggy-back ride?" she asked the girl. Sherry smiled that tiny smile of hers and nodded shyly. Claire picked her up.

"Get in front of me. Stay between me and Chris."

Claire had her hands full with the kid. If something came after us, she would be the least likely person to defend any of us or even herself.

"We're almost there," Chris announced over his shoulder. I frowned but didn't say anything. He had said a half-hour. It had only been ten minutes at most. But no warning alarms went off in my head. Even so, I felt for the Sig in my jacket pocket. Its weight was comforting in some strange way. The buildings around us were the least destroyed of any I had seen. Chris suddenly stopped. Claire almost ran into him. I pulled the Sig from my pocket and held it in a two-handed grip near my thigh.

"What is it?" I asked, my voice low.

Chris didn't say anything for a moment. Then, when I thought I couldn't stand his silence anymore, he spoke. "That's the place."

I looked at the building. It was five stories of what looked like apartments. Some of the windows were boarded up, others retained all of their glass. The building was made of brick and had a cast-iron fire escape running up the side we were facing. The building had scorch marks around the base, as though someone had tried to burn it down. Maybe someone had. I didn't see anything that made me suspicious so I nodded.

"Okay. Let's go."

Chris nodded again and started up the fire escape without another word.

Claire hesitated, not sure what to do with Sherry. "Go up first and I'll hand her to you."

Claire moved quickly up the ladder and then turned, once she was on the first landing. Her eyes widened as the first warning bell went off in my head, like someone had hit a gong in a cartoon. I turned, seeing the mutated rats creeping towards Sherry and myself.

"Crap." I scooped Sherry up and threw her to Claire, displaying a strength I hadn't known I had. I hoped Claire would catch her. I turned, pulling the Sig-Sauer out. As if on some silent signal, the rats charged, their evil red eyes glaring madly at me. I shot into the mass of furry bodies and heard squeals of pain as my bullet impacted. There was a quick commotion as their fellows devoured them. I used the time to scramble up the fire escape, gun still in my hand. I heard someone yell, "DOWN!" and I ducked to feel the heat of flames as it blew by my face. I smelled burnt hair and flesh and felt my insides churn. But I was Alice, heap big zombie re-killer and I did not throw up. I followed Sherry's dress into the window as the little girl disappeared inside the fourth floor. I slammed the window closed behind me and stopped, giving my eyes time to adjust. There were eighteen people in this small room, not counting Chris, Claire or Sherry. Eight women and ten men, all of them of different races and ages, the youngest, around twenty, the oldest, in his late forties. The only opening was the window behind me and a door across the room. One of the men had a flamethrower attached to his back.

"You can put that away, now," one of the men said, a guy in his thirties, with prematurely balding hair and a slight pudge around his middle. I didn't move.

"Who are you people?"

No one said anything, no one even moved. I could've asked the wall the same question for all the good it did me. Anger flashed across my face. I was sick of this. Chris could play his little games but unless I got an answer soon I was gone. I felt the coming darkness with a sense I didn't remember having. Chris moved suddenly, halting in front of the guy with the flamethrower and they spoke quickly in hushed voices, like I couldn't hear them if I wanted to. And I wanted to.

"-Need to meet the contact," Chris said urgently.

"She doesn't want to see anyone right now," the man's voice was hard, not open to discussion.

Like I needed to okay it with him. I moved quickly, getting past him before the man could even move. I was out the door before he realized he had a way to stop me. This room was bigger than the first by half. And darker. Someone suddenly flipped the lights on and I was blinded.


	3. Suprise for Alice

Author's Note: Hey, What the heck? Where are the reviews? If I don't get any reviews, I won't update... I need to know _someone_ cares ï. (BIG THANKS to pigeonofdoom and Felix Dovetail)

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice, or any other characters you happen to know from previous RE's so I wouldn't sue. Besides, I'm a poor college student. You won't get much out of me. On to the story!

Someone suddenly flipped the lights on and I was blinded. I heard someone moving towards me and I instinctively brought the Sig up.

"Put the gun down."

Instantly, I obeyed. "What the he-"

"Stop talking," the woman's sharp, gravelly voice commanded. I stopped. What was going on? Something was nagging at me in the back of my mind. Something that chided me for forgetting...

The woman turned the light off. I blinked a few times and then gasped. I couldn't help it. The person in front of me was dead. There was no way...

"Alice, its been a while. I was beginning to think you'd never make it."

I was staring at a Hispanic woman in her late twenties. The same woman Matt had put a bullet in, right between the eyes.

"Rain...?" my voice sounded strangled.

Rain smiled that scary smile of hers, the one that said mess-with-me-and-I-will-kill-you.

"Yep, its me."

My face hardened. Once again, I brought the Sig up and stuck it in her face.

"There is no way you're alive. Back away slowly and put your hands on your head," I ordered her, training the gun at her forehead. Instead, Rain took a step forward, her eyes cold.

"Put the gun down, Alice," Rain's voice matched her eyes, cold and steady.

I pulled the hammer back. "I mean it, Rain. You know I'll do it."

Rain nodded slowly. "I know you will. I'm telling you not to." Then, she moved faster than I could follow, lashing out with her foot, knocking the gun from my hands and dropping me on my butt. I flipped back onto my feet only to now be staring down the barrel of the Sig in Rain's hands. "So, now what? Are you going to kill me?" I ignored the gun in my face and spoke instead to Rain. To my surprise, Rain laughed.

"Alice, why the fukc would I kill you? Until a few days ago, I didn't even know you were alive."

I stared at her. "A few days? _I _didn't even know I was alive until a few days ago."

Rain smiled mysteriously. "What can I say? I have a way with people."

"Oh, yeah, you're a real people person."

Rain laughed again. I wasn't laughing.

"Rain, you were a fukcin' zombie! You tried to take a chunk out of Matt! So you're all of the sudden alright?" I was afraid of her. Could she see it?

She gave me her scary smile again. Oh, yeah, she could see it. I was in deep.

"I don't know what happened. I remember getting on the train, passing out and having you almost kill me. I woke up in a lab and had some fukcin' scientists poking and prodding me. I escaped. You know, obviously, the virus got out. Its infecting more and more animals, not just the dogs."

"So you're no longer on a flesh diet?"

"As of three days ago, no."

"I'm hoping that's when you escaped."

Again, Rain's patented smile. "Yeah, sure. What about you, Alice? Last I heard, you were trapped in a lab."

"I..." I hesitated. Then I told her the rest of the story or as much as I could remember.

Her expression changed, her smile fading.

"It sounds like Umbrella got the last laugh on both of us. We were fukcin' guinea pigs."

I nodded. "What's the deal?" I gestured to the door.

"I...escaped, too. I rescued a few of the people from the flesh-eating freaks. What started as place to crash became a safe house. I, at first, was the only one of these people to have any kind of experience dealing with the assholes. I met the Redfields. They were former S.T.A.R.S., like... Matt. What happened to him...?"

I blinked tears back. Where had they come from?

"I don't know. He was mutating and I couldn't get to him in time..." I murmured the last of it.

Rain looked concerned, something I'd never seen her do before. "Alice, it wasn't your fault. None of it. If it wasn't for you, I would've never even made it to the train."

I felt her hesitate and then she put her hand on my shoulder. "We'll figure this out. Okay,

bitch?"

I felt myself smile, but I knew it wouldn't reach my eyes.

"Rain, you still haven't explained what happened to you." She looked away, her eyes darker than normal. "I don't know what happened to me. I _was_ dead. I was a fukcin' zombie. But I don't really remember anything. I woke up and there were needles in my skin. Hurt like a bitch when I pulled them out. I got out of the room and there were people watching me, almost like they knew..." her voice faded away. I looked up sharply. This part was important.

"What did they know, Rain?" I asked carefully.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm not sure..." she did know but she wasn't gonna tell me. Unless I made her. I let it go. I put it in the back of my mind. I didn't want to forget her again.

"So now what?"

"Well, I was kinda waiting for you," Rain said with a wry smile. "And the Redfields. I figured you'd find them. As far as I know, they're the only survivors left."

"So lets go, lets get out of this fukcin' city!"

Rain smiled again. "Now you're talking. We're going to wait until morning. You look like you could use some sleep."

"I don't sleep."

So what'd you think? Good person to bring back? Do you like the plot so far? Any suggestions?? Come on, guys, ANY IDEAS? Also, Flames are totally allowed as long as you explain what/why I should change or what you don't like. Stay Classy, San Diego!


	4. Food for Thought

Author's Note:

Thank you, thank you, thankyou, thankyou Malenkaya, you rule! To reviewer #197, how could I add substance to Rain's return? I'm not being sarcastic, I promise, just trying to get an idea...

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

I was lying on a cold, hard, metal examining table. I was naked. Only a thin, white sheet separated my body from the cold, sterile room. And the people. There were always people. They watched me, watched the monitors, made sure the needles stayed in, the bags dripped liquid, I stayed under. I couldn't see the people's faces because they had surgical scrubs and masks covering their faces. But I knew they weren't anything good. One of them turned towards me. It was a man. I had memorized his eyes, the only part of him I ever saw. He was smiling. Don't ask me how I knew, I just did. The man held a scalpel. I felt him cut into my neck, close to the collar bone.

"Don't worry, Alice. This will take care of everything..."

"Alice...?"

"Alice!"

I sat straight up and looked around, grabbing for the gun that wasn't there.

"Alice, calm down, its me, its Claire."

She sat on the edge of the bed that I didn't remember getting into. The bed was comfy and still warm from my body being buried underneath the goose-down comforter. I sat up straighter, leaning against soft pillows. Now, I could see her face, pale against the darkness.

"Claire, what's going on? Where's everyone? Where's Rain? Is Sherry okay?" I felt a stab of fear when I thought about the zombies attacking the little girl.

Claire held up a hand, in a calming gesture. "Sherry's fine. Rain's in her room. Everyone else is in different parts of the building. I was waking you up so that you could eat." She looked carefully at me. "Are you okay? Did you...did you have a nightmare? Because that would be understandable."

"Yeah, something like that," I said, running a hand through my long hair, pulling it away from my face. "Uh, you mentioned food?" I looked at her hands. She was holding a bowl of something.

"Chicken noodle soup okay with you?" Claire asked, holding the bowl out to me.

I took it quickly. "I'm so hungry I could eat this pillow." About a minute later, the food was gone.

Claire smiled. "Good thing you weren't hungry."

She made me smile, too.

"You want to talk about that dream? It looks like it scared the shi-"

Claire was cut off by screams from the room next to us.

Dun, dun, duh! So, what do ya think? I know, the "chapters" are short, but I'm just trying to keep you hooked. ï Please review. I'm telling you the more reviews the quicker I update Hint Hint

Have a wonderful day/night!

Jelena


	5. Knock, Knock Anyone home?

A/N: Hey, hope everyone's been having a great week. I've been really, really busy this week, waaaaay too many tests. Rain1657 has brought something to my attention: Claire didn't ever work for S.T.A.R.S. So, yeah, that's obviously a minor mistake. Please take it into stride, it shouldn't affect the story too much...

Claire was cut off by screams from the room next to us. Our eyes met for a split second before both of us jumped to our feet and ran out of the door.

"Claire! Weapons! We need weapons!"

"They're in the next room!" Both of us dashed from the bed room and into the next room. It was a small hallway. Sure enough there was my shotgun, the Sig, and a few other pieces of weaponry. I grabbed the shotgun, Claire grabbed the Sig. I glanced at her and she nodded once. I threw open the door and walked inside. It was chaos. A few people were huddled in a

corner. Sherry sat on the floor, her hands over her eyes. I could hear other people coming from above but they wouldn't be here quickly enough. There was a Licker in the building and it had brought friends. It had already killed one person, someone I didn't recognize. The Licker had paused, in the throes of mutation. Already spines were emerging from its skin. Leveling the shotgun, I didn't give it a chance to finish. Its head exploded, the body slumping to the floor in a mess of gore and blood. The second Licker turned and roared a death-challenge at me before lunging at Sherry. No way was it getting to the little girl. I flung myself across the room but Rain and Chris beat me to it. Rain threw herself to the ground, coming up a roll and pushing Sherry out of the way. Sherry squealed as she slid. The sight was almost comical, except for the creature bearing down on Rain, who was weaponless. The Licker opened its mouth, revealing row after row of razor sharp built-for-shredding teeth.

"My, what big teeth you have," I heard her say. Again, I fought the urge to laugh. Chris had scooped up Sherry, getting her out of the way. Even as the thing was trapping Rain, who now lay on her back, its lizard-like tongue, for which it was named, lashed out, grabbing my foot.

"Rain!" I yelled and threw the shotgun. She caught it one-handed, cocked it and pulled the

trigger. Now the Licker was pissed. It picked me up with its tongue, half its face blown apart, and threw me, head first, into the very convenient brick wall. I slumped for a second, dazed as the third Licker leapt from its place on the brick wall and landed in front of me. Claire unloaded the Sig into the Licker. They were hollow-point rounds which made wonderful fist sized holes in the monster. I flipped back onto my feet and kicked the Licker in the face. Meanwhile, Rain was hitting the creature in the face with the butt of the shotgun, which it didn't seem to like very much. Finally, gunfire erupted from around us, bullets tearing what was left of both creatures into shredded pulp. Reinforcements had arrived. Rain's people, each holding a weapon of some kind, burst into the room, firing carefully so as not to hit any of the humans.

Rain got to her feet, nodding at the other people in the room. Our eyes met briefly and I knew what she was saying: thanks. I also knew her personality wouldn't let her say that word out loud. I turned to Claire. "Nice shootin', Tex," I said with a smile and a country accent.

Claire smiled in return and clicked the safety on.

A/N:

So this was my attempt at action. Hopefully, it didn't fail miserably, lol. Next chapter will be important to those of you who've been trying to figure out what's up with Rain. Want to know what the heck I'm talking about? Review, review, review. And if you want something to do: REVIEW!

Jelena


	6. The Human Condition

A/N: Okay so I lied. There is a hint about Rain at the bottom but I decided to chop that chapter in half and now you get this one and the one following it... Rain really will be explained, I promise.

I went to where Chris stood. He was still holding Sherry, the little girl's face buried in his shoulder. I looked at him for a second and then lightly rubbed Sherry's back. She turned to me.

"You okay, kiddo?" I asked quietly, concern evident in my voice.

She nodded again and held her arms out to me. I took her, shielding her eyes from the gore as I left the room. I paused when I heard Rain's voice call my name. But I shook my head and she quieted. We went through the hall and were back in the bedroom. I sat her down on the bed and looked around the room. There was a chair in one dark corner. I pulled it over to the bed and sat down.

"Sherry, have you had anything to eat?"

Sherry nodded, her brown hair covering most of her face. This sucked. I didn't know what to do with the girl. I was a guinea pig, not a therapist. I pushed her hair behind an ear and she looked up at me, her eyes wide. I wondered what I should do. If I still had nightmares, I knew she would too.

"Sherry, have you slept at all?" This time, the little girl shook her head no.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"Of the big monsters?" I asked, guessing the answer and praying I was wrong.

She nodded. I breathed an internal sigh of relief. I was wrong. I was afraid she was going to tell me that she was afraid of _me_. I thought about it for a second and then, "Tell you what, kiddo. I'll sit here and watch out for the monsters. But you have to take a nap."

Sherry made a face. "I don't like naps," she said.

I smiled. "I don't either. But you have to sleep so we can get out of here."

Sherry smiled her tiny smile and slowly nodded her head. "Will you tell me a story?"

I almost laughed and then caught myself. "Sure. Lie back. And you have to close your eyes." She did as she was told, the faint smile still on her lips.

"Once upon a time there was a princess. She had long hair and always wore beautiful dresses, usually powder blue." Sherry giggled. "Shhh... Now, where was I? Now, since you're awake, what should I name this princess? Maybe...Sherry?"

"Now, Sherry, like all princesses, lived in a beautiful castle, guarded by a..." I was on the verge of describing a monster, but I stopped. Sherry had seen enough monsters. "Huge, fluffy pink bunny. Sherry loved the Bunny because he was her friend. He was never mean to her and guarded her from everything..." I stopped talking, as I heard Sherry's breathing slow. She had fallen asleep. I quietly swiveled the chair so that it was cattycorner to the door and the bed. I slowed my breathing, but I was in no way asleep. I was concentrating and listening to the sounds around and inside this room. I had made up my mind. Nothing was going to get this little girl.

About a half an hour later by my internal clock, the door opened and Rain slipped inside. I was standing beside the door, a punch aimed at her face. I saw who it was and stopped, watching her eyes widen slightly. I had surprised _Rain_. I dropped my fist, hand at my side. I re-took my seat and watched Rain as she regained control over her emotions.

"Do you want to go outside? I don't want to wake up the kid," Rain said, nodding towards the

sleeping girl. I shook my head no.

"I...No. Just speak quietly."

Rain quietly closed the door and then pulled a chair from the other corner of the room. She stared at me for a while before speaking. "We need to leave. Unfortunately, there's no way to know what's going on anywhere else."

Rain paused again, her dark eyes unreadable. "Why do you care so much about her?"

I took a moment to answer. "I don't know." I was lying. Did she know it? The truth was, I felt protective of Sherry. We had both managed to live through things that should've, by all accounts, driven us insane, and yet we lived.

"Isn't she just dead weight?"

I felt my eyes flash. I was mad at Rain for her callousness. Maybe she was right, but that didn't

stop me from caring. I took a breath and thought.

"Why did you help those other people?" I asked, my voice clear, the anger hidden.

Again, I saw Rain struggle with her emotions and the answer to my question.

"Two hours, Alice. Maybe less. Then we're gone. Leave the kid behind or don't. Do what you want."

I felt like protesting, arguing for the necessity of keeping Sherry alive but stopped. It would be a waste of time and words to attempt to change Rain's mind, once it was made up. She stood and was at the door almost faster than even my eyes could follow. She paused on her way out and spoke: "Sometimes, I don't understand humanbehavior."

So, what did Rain mean? Any guesses? Let me know what you think: Review! And have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow.

Jelena


	7. An Undeleted Program

Disclaimer: Jeez, I always forget to put this on! I'm a poor college student who doesn't own any of the RE characters but does own most of the plot as well as the character Sherry. Don't sue, you won't get more than the lint from my jeans pocket (unless you're into that).

What had Rain met by that? I was still turning her statement over in my mind, two hours after she had made it, as I gently shook Sherry to wake her.

"C'mon, kiddo, we need to go." She sat up slowly, wiping the sleep from her eyes, a sleepy, half-dazed expression on her face.

"Shoes and socks." I picked them up off the floor and helped Sherry put them on. Then, I held her by the hand and lead her out to the main room. I could hear people in it but I was listening for one voice in particular.

Rain nodded to me, frowning a bit as her eyes fell on Sherry. Then she turned away and began to address her "people."

"Here's the deal. There are zombies, blood-rats and who the hell knows what else out there. Now, we are going to try and get out of this city. Anyone who wants to go, fine. But this is gonna be a team work thing. Any beefs you got with anyone else need to be forgotten right now." She looked around at the people surrounding her, meeting each person's eyes, as if she could read what they were thinking.

"Alright. Everyone grab a weapon and as much ammo as you can carry."

I saw Chris and Claire making their way towards me. I waited for them, even as more of Rain's people began to leave the main room. A few seconds later they would re-emerge laden down with handguns, grenades, clips, rifles, basically every piece of weaponry available.

Claire greeted me with a smile and Chris, with a "hey."

Claire automatically picked up Sherry and shifted her to a piggy back position. The little girl leaned against her and fell back to sleep.

"Alice, have you noticed anything different with Rain?" Claire spoke quickly and quietly.

I hesitated for a second, torn between my loyalty to Rain and the truth. "Yes. She seems different. But, I didn't know her all that well to begin with, even before."

Chris said, "But I did know her. And she wasn't ever like that. She became more cynical when Umbrella bought out S.T.A.R.S., but she was never that...scary. I want to keep an eye on her."

That was the smartest thing I'd heard him say. "I agree. I'll watch her. And Claire?"

She looked at me. "Watch the kid for me?"

Claire nodded, her expression serious, her eyes unreadable.

I left them to retrieve my weaponry. I heard them talking quietly as I crossed the room, but I was going to give them privacy because I wasn't sure I wanted to hear what they were saying. I found my shotgun, loaded it and grabbed a strap. I swung the shotgun onto my back and started searching for the Sig Sauer. I barely heard the sound, before I realized Rain was beside me, a strange smile on her face. She held the gun out to me, already loaded, safety on. In her other hand, she held the holster and three clips. Rain held the holster out to me and I put it on, so that the Sig hung underneath my left arm. I turned my back to her and looked for a bag or something to put the clips and a few extra items in. I saw one and bent to pick it up. There was another small sound behind me and then a sharp sting in the small of my back. I went down on one knee as my world began to swirl like I was having a LSD trip. I began to shiver uncontrollably. I felt sick, like I was trying to recover from the flu. I lost my balance and fell almost on my face, catching myself with my hands so that I looked like I was worshipping something. Rain's face came swirling into my field of vision.

"W...wh...?" I tried to speak but English was a third language now.

Still wearing that strange smile, Rain said, "Its time to become active."

A/N: Very short, I know. But I wrote this at, like, 2:00 A.M, so there. What's next? Is Rain a traitor? Or is there something else going on, possibly Umbrella related?

Author's note to Rain1657- I promise Rain's behavior will be explained, it's just gonna take a little while longer (and much more caffeine). Besides, when has Rain not been a bi-?

I know I just put this up but I also finished (sort of) the next chapter, so I'll go ahead and tease you a bit: Rain's attitude is mostly explained in the next chapter, so if you want to know what's up with her, review! Happy Sunday! I'm going to bed now.


	8. Activation and Understanding

A/N: Hopefully this won't mess anyone up but I hate the line spacing, I think it makes the lines harder to read, so I changed it in word. Finally, to those that wanted it, I'm going to explain what's wrong with Rain. (Also, just so its said I didn't go to sleep once I finished the previous chapter, so if something seems a little off, that's it: lack of sleep.) Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks.

My vision was beginning to straighten out but the colors...they were all wrong. The world seemed bathed in too much light. I could make out all of Rain's normally shadowed face. I regained my balance and got slowly to my feet.

"Alice?" I focused on Rain, anger flashing through my face. Why had she stuck me with the fukcin' needle?! Now, her expression had changed. Instead of the smile, there was contempt, a haughtiness that I had _never_ seen on her face.

"Get up."

I stood.

Rain smiled. "Good."

I stood there, hesitating, wanting to speak but somehow not being able to.

"Speak," Rain commanded.

"What did you give me? And why? What the he-"

"Stop."

I stopped.

"I noticed your implant wasn't working when I had to make you drop the Sig," Rain shrugged. "I gave you a tune-up."

"Get your weapons and follow me. Don't tell anyone about what happened in here," Rain ordered, her expression blank.

What the hell? Who was Rain working for? No, wait, I knew the answer. Damn the Umbrella Corporation, first for creating the T-virus, secondly for creating the Hive and the homicidal Red Queen, thirdly for their experimentation-on me. I realized something now, too late, which should've been very obvious. Umbrella never did anything without a cause. Rain's re-appearance was no coincidence. Obviously, they had done something to her, something that involved me. All while I had been thinking, my body had been following orders and I found myself back outside, Chris looking at me curiously.

"You were gone a while. What went on in there?"

My brain screamed, Tell him! Tell him, you idiot! But I had orders. And whatever Rain had done to me had me silenced.

"Nothing. I was upgrading." I felt sick inside, with the insane urge to laugh. I really had been upgraded. I could see every line of Chris's face, as if someone had thrown a spotlight on him. I could hear his heart, tapping out a beat faster than mine. I had already assessed every possible way to kill him, deciding on which was most efficient in under a second. It was like every logic sensor in my brain had been put on overdrive. I could kill him easily and not feel bad about it-except that wasn't right. Part of me felt sick with the thought of coldly murdering him; the other part felt nothing. I would feel no regret, no grief. I was just doing a job. I wanted to scream, to cry. What kind of inhuman monster had they created? _Umbrella, what have you done now?_

We had been traveling for an hour when we heard the moans. Actually, I had heard them about fifteen minutes before everyone else and had glanced at Rain to see if she had heard them. She held a finger to her lips. I opened my mouth to speak anyway and found I couldn't. Even a non-verbal command, it seemed, could defeat my will. That's when I made my choice. I could either spend my life as Umbrella's pawn or I could fight it. Guess which door I chose.

I caught Chris's eye. Quickly, I made the signal for alert, trusting his S.T.A.R.s training to pick up on it. He nodded once, a slight move of his head. Apparently, commands had limits. So, if Rain told me not to speak, I could do anything else but that. It was a theory worth testing, but not now. Ten minutes later, I saw Chris's eyes widen as he began to hear the moans and shuffles of the mass of undead creatures moving towards us.

"Rain! We need to get these people up," he yelled, pointing towards the roof of a nearby building. I knew what he was thinking: we could jump the gap between each building; the zombies could not. I knew her answer before she said it.

"No." It was quiet and yet that simple word carried. Then, the zombies were on us.

Sherry screamed and so did Claire. I didn't blame them. At best, most of the zombies had been decaying for more than a day. At worst, well, one had grey matter almost falling from its broken skull. Another's eye was hanging on only by the retina. There were at least fifty of them. Crap.

I looked back at Rain and saw her strange smile. I knew what she was thinking; knew it because I was thinking it too. We were both safe because we were infected. That was why the zombies had not attacked me in the building where I had rescued Sherry, Chris and Claire. I wasn't a meal. But everyone else was.

"RUN!" I screamed, for all the good it did. Chris grabbed his weapon: a Remington pump-action shotgun and blasted the nearest zombie in the face. It went down but another replaced it. Then, I realized something else. Rain hadn't forbidden me from helping these people, simply from saying anything to them about the approaching threat. Time to test that theory.

I smiled and I knew it wasn't pleasant. In one fluid movement, I pulled the Sig from its thigh holster and shot a zombie reaching for Claire and Sherry. The little girl could only stare, wide-eyed as the monsters shuffled closer and closer. I had made a promise and no fukcing programming was going to change that. I moved in front of the zombies, blocking Claire and Sherry. Meanwhile, Chris was holding his own but he was going to run out of ammo soon enough. Rain wasn't doing anything. She simply watched impassively as the zombies attacked her people. The big guy with the flame-thrower wasn't doing too badly. The problem with zombies was that they just didn't feel pain. So even though they were on fire, they weren't falling. My eyes took all of this in; my brain working on an escape route for those who were still able to escape. Already, most of Rain's people had fallen to the zombie's hunger, their screams of pain cutting through the air. I stood still, desperately searching for a way out of this mess. There! Once again, I would be saved by a fire escape.

"Claire, now!" I yelled, hoping she would understand what I was saying. I showed no mercy for the horde of creatures before me. They were in the way and needed to be eliminated. I broke necks without a second thought, ending their undead lives efficiently. Or maybe I wasn't being merciless. I was putting them out of their misery, as Rain had once asked me to do. Claire was right on my heels, Sherry's face hidden in her back. I jumped, higher than even the best NBA star's leap, and grabbed the fire escape's ladder.

"Up."

Claire put Sherry on the ladder first. The little girl moved up the ladder slowly. Claire placed a hand on the rung and looked back at me. There, for the first time, was real fear. And, with a cold chill down my spine, I realized who-no, what-made that fear appear. Me. The freak that Umbrella had created.

I heard a half-strangled yell. Chris. I turned, seeing him nearly overrun by the zombies. Only three people remained of Rain's group: herself, the flame-thrower guy and a young woman I hadn't spoken to. Now, suddenly, Rain turned to the woman and lunged at her, aiming for her throat.

"Rain, no!" my voice sounded horrified. Once again, I felt indifferent to the woman's death and what I had just seen Rain do. The flame-thrower man also stopped, his mouth open, eyes nearly bulging from his skull, disbelief etched in every line of his face. Chris, still grappling with a zombie, hadn't seen it. I prayed that neither of the girls, especially Sherry, had seen what Rain had just done. The woman's scream turned to a gurgle as blood coursed through her mangled throat. The zombies finished what Rain had started and grabbed the woman, pulling chunks from her flesh. I aimed and shot her in the forehead. No one deserved to die like that. Well, maybe someone did.

The flame-thrower carrier had recovered from his shock. He began to raise the nozzle of the 'thrower towards Rain. Too slowly. Rain was at his side and had broken his neck before his finger even reached the trigger. Rain turned to look at me, licking the blood from her lips. Her eyes were black. In that moment, I realized that there was nothing human left in the form of Rain Melendez.

Author's Note: So this was probably the longest chapter I've ever written.

To Jesse-When I started this, Rain wasn't going to be evil, only a pawn. Obviously, I changed my mind. But I'm a woman and it's my prerogative to change my mind again. :0)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Once again, reviews are great, flames acceptable, just explain what/why you didn't like. Only a week 'til Halloween!


	9. Time to Pick Sides

Author's Note: I am so sorry! I totally didn't realize that my story hadn't been updated! This week has been horribly hectic (say that 3x fast). So I'm really sorry and here ya go.

So, okay, I told you I would explain and I did, sort of. Of course, with Umbrella, there's always more to the story. Now that Alice knows Rain is a killer, how will she react? Will she be able to keep Claire, Chris and Sherry safe?

Disclaimer You know the drill, poor kid who doesn't own much.

Chris threw the zombie off and butted it in the face with his shotgun, aiming the blow at the creature's chin. There was another crack as its neck broke.

He turned, ready to fight off more but I grabbed his shoulder, trying to keep him from seeing what Rain had done. She was still wiping the blood from her lips. I dragged him to the fire escape, killing zombies as they approached, keeping him free of their grasp. Once again, I used the strength Umbrella had given me and basically threw him to the second landing of the fire escape. He landed heavily and I knew he was surprised. Nevertheless, he turned to me, still holding the shotgun.

"Pull the ladder up! Get Sherry and Claire!" Chris nodded and began to pull the ladder up. It squeaked with each tug. I still was listening for any sounds from inside the building. I picked out Claire and Sherry with my new vision standing on the roof. I couldn't tell from either's face if they had seen Rain. The zombies were working on the meal Rain had placed before them: the man and the woman. She stood quietly and watched. Could I get away? She seemed gone, lost in her own thoughts. If I hadn't seen everything that I had seen I would've thought myself crazy. There were zombies all around us and I was being controlled by some kind of implant. I could run. Would Rain follow?

"You can't run, Alice," Rain said, eyes still black. "Well, I suppose you could, but it wouldn't make a difference." She smiled that horrible smile of hers. "All I have to do is give you an order and you're here like that." She snapped her fingers. Her eyes left my face and she looked up.

"For example..."

"Kill them," Rain ordered, pointing to the only people I cared about: Chris, Claire and Sherry.


	10. Silver Rain Fell

Author's note:

Thought I was gonna continue and tell you what happens to S, C and C? Well, you thought wrong! I've decided to try something else due to the nearly over-whelming response to Rain. Hope y'all enjoy!

I woke up and felt that everything was _wrong_. Like I was two people in one. I tried to bring my hand to my head and couldn't. I tried to move my legs, my hands, my head, anything but I couldn't. I looked around. It was pitch black. I tried to move my hand straight up and ran into something hard and wooden.

"Ow."

The funny thing was, I had always had just a touch of claustrophobia. Here, trapped in this...whatever...I was close to losing it. But I, Rain Melendez, did not "lose it." I slowed my breathing and concentrated. I really hoped I was wrong about this...I brought my hands up and dragged the tips of my fingers over the lid. Yep, that's right. I was in a coffin. How had I ended up in here? The last thing I remembered was entering the Hive and capturing the man responsible for some sort of corporate scandal after being alerted by Alice Abernathy, one of the Hive's main security people. We, One, J.D., Kaplan and the rest of the team had then turned the man over to our superiors at HQ.

Maybe this was some kind of test and I wasn't supposed to remember how I get in here? I decided to go with the test theory. Well, if I didn't get out I was gonna fail the test. I shoved on the top and felt it budge slightly. I smiled to myself and pushed again. I shoved with all my strength and the lid fell open, becoming unhinged as it did so. I was in a dark, once sterile room. There was blood everywhere and besides my coffin were a few others. I felt goose bumps run over my skin. Something was definitely wrong here. My vision was weird. It was like when a camera flashes and there are "after-images" left behind. Or like the time I had gotten a concussion and seen double. I shook my head but it was no help. I staggered towards the door, wanting to leave this shocking room as quickly as possible. I pulled on the handle and it opened easily. I slipped quickly out the door and paused, listening for alarms, or sounds or ...anything. But there were no sounds-no muffled talking, no footsteps, no sounds that would signal life. Ooookay.

Something told me that I was on the bottom floor and that I needed to travel up three flights of steps to get out. And something else, some internal survival instinct, told me I needed to get out of this building NOW. I immediately turned north and headed towards the nearest stairwell. I knew there were three stairwells on this hallway but that one of them was locked and the other required a keycard. So door number three it was. I reached the stairwell, still not hearing anything. I opened the door-and a corpse fell out. I backed away, my lip lifted in disgust.

I waited a second, unsure of what I expected. No doubt about it, I expected _something. _Giving a mental-shrug, I went into the stairwell.

I encountered nothing else on the stairs but still hesitated at the main entrance to the ground floor. What had happened here?

I took a breath and then opened the door to find-nothing. I surveyed the room. It was almost exactly as I remembered it. There was a large oak desk in the middle of the room, which an armed guard stayed behind. I knew that there were security monitors and other devices behind the desk. Behind the desk, on the wall in large, bold letters, were the words "Umbrella Corporation" along with the emblem of the red and white umbrella. One thing that definitely wasn't usually there: a blood smear running under the word "Umbrella" as if underscoring it. There was a broken, overturned plaque that stated the senior partners names. Otherwise, the lobby was the same as it usually was. I moved behind the desk, thinking of a potential weapon. Thankfully, there was no body this time but there weren't any weapons either. I searched the desks and found a radio.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

At first there was nothing but static but then a frightened male voice came through.

"H-hello? Is someone there?"

I nearly dropped the radio in my haste to respond. "Yes! Yes, I'm here. What's the hell's going on?"

"They're saying there's been some kind of outbreak. Most of the city's been infected."

I felt like I had eaten glass. An outbreak? Was I infected? How would I know...?

"W-what are the symptoms?"

"I...I don't know," the man's voice was still shaky.

Ok, maybe I was and maybe I wasn't. Panicking was still not an option.

"What's your name?"

"Chris. Chris Redfield."

"Alright, Chris. Can you tell me where you are? My name's Rain."

"Uh...I...about five miles away from Raven's Gate," his voice seemed calmer, now that he was talking to someone.

I almost laughed. "Chris, could you be a little bit more specific?"

He actually did laugh. "I'm really not sure. There's a bunch of corporate-looking buildings around...one of them says 'Alexa, Incorporated.'"

I knew the building. It was a sister corporation of Umbrella's; a place so secretive even the higher-ups didn't know all of what went on.

"Chris, I know where you are. I'm going to come get you."

"I...Thank you."

I smiled even though I knew he couldn't see it. "You're welcome. Tell me more about this outbreak."

Thirty minutes and some seriously weird conversation later, I still couldn't believe what Chris was telling me. Supposedly, this virus reanimated the dead, creating a horror buffs dream come true (or would that be nightmare come true?). Every being of my body rebelled against this idea: Umbrella had intentionally created the virus and knew its effects, even allowing it to be released. Since I wasn't dead, I guessed I hadn't been infected-yet. I had told Chris everything I knew about the Hive and Umbrella as I walked towards him-which really wasn't much, other than some information I had personally gathered. He, in turn, told me about what he had seen and about his sister, Claire. I was only a mile away from him when I heard a loud engine. I looked up as suddenly a black helicopter buzzed overhead. Four people dropped to the ground around me, each holding AK-47's and various other pieces of weaponry. Maybe I had spoke too soon.

"Move," one of the people in black motioned with his (her?) gun towards a black S.U.V. that had pulled up. The back passenger door was opened for me and I was motioned in, still held at gunpoint. There was a man already seated in the SUV. He smiled at me and I immediately wanted to hit him. Without even talking to him, I knew he was going to be a pompous ass.

"Hello, Miss. Melendez. How were your accommodations?"

I thought he was making a joke. Maybe he was. He was still wearing that smile as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. I held up my hands, letting this guy know that he was the one in control. He shot me anyway.

Author's Note: So okay, originally I wanted to do this entirely from Alice's p.o.v. but then I kept getting people asking about Rain! So, while this is still shorter than I'd like, hopefully, I'm beginning to answer some questions, even while I leave you with a heckofa cliffhanger regarding our three "normal" people's fate. Also, just an F.Y.I. I'm probably going to start flip-flopping between Alice and Rain and I'll try to give you a heads-up but I thought I'd surprise you just this time ;). One more thing, next week, I have tons of stuff due and then I have Fall break so I'll try and update as much as possible before then. P.S. I wrote this at like eleven after five cups of coffee and three hours of sleep, so if there are errors, please let me know and I'll fix them. Thanks and Please Review, all you Rain fans! (That's right, I know you're out there!)


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